Freelance: Yes or No?

If you are a professional who works in the office, you have probably experienced the downsides of a job from 9 to 5. Getting stuck in a traffic jam while commuting, annoying boss or coworkers, inability to manage your working schedule… Under these circumstances, many office workers see freelancing as a synonym of freedom and independence. However, is it really so?

When speaking of freelancing, you probably imagine the ability to work from anywhere and choose the tasks that really challenge you. Freelancing, though, has its pros and cons one should consider before choosing this type of career. Read the pros and cons of freelancing work from our certified professional resume writers to identify whether it is the right fit for you.

Pros of freelancing

You will get the desired freedom
Flexibility and freedom are the first and foremost things that people adore about freelancing. Now, you don’t have to spend five days a week in the same area. If you are comfortable working late in the night, that’s not a problem. If you get especially creative in the fresh air, all you have to do is to grab your laptop and head to the nearest park. In other words, you choose the location, the workload and working hours. How cool does it sound?

You save the precious time
Think of how much time you spend commuting, chatting with colleagues and wasting time during some delay in the office. As a freelancer, you will need to spend time on negotiations with clients and work. And this will ultimately save you at least one hour every day.
By the way, if you are interested in well-paying freelance opportunities for writers, you can check here which writing gigs pay more: http://resumeperk.com/blog/list-of-profitable-job-positions-for-writers.

You choose the tasks (and people to work with)
In the office, you rarely have the opportunity to choose the type of task you are being assigned. Whether you like it or not, you need to do your job within your area of responsibility. On the other hand, freelancing gives you an opportunity to choose the tasks you’ll be working with.
Another advantage is that if you meet a rude or unpleasant client, you can just refuse collaborating with them. Many people who don’t like their jobs say their boss is the real pain in the neck. As a freelancer, you won’t have a boss, and as long as you have multiple clients, you can feel safe when rejecting working with people you’re not comfortable working with.

You’ll professionally grow in a chosen niche
Let’s assume you’re a writer who is keen on writing about investment and finance management. As a freelancer, you can choose to focus entirely on the above subjects. As a result, your knowledge of the subject matter will grow simultaneously, which will lead to professional growth and higher pay rates.
This rule works for freelancer in any field. As long as you deepen your skills, your salary will grow as well.

You’ll learn how to manage your own business
Freelancing has a lot of things in common with running a small business. When you work with the company, the company hires you to do the certain type of work. With freelancing, things are totally different.
You will need to find clients on your own, negotiate with them, and resolve any conflicts if they arise. Secondly, you organize and manage your workload, and assure the high quality of the work provided. If you become a successful freelancer, this will mean that you’ve learned the basics of running a business, and maybe this is something you’ll consider doing in the future.

You can improve your lifestyle significantly
When you work for a company, you are confined by the same place for 8 (or even more) hours a day, and the vacation only lasts for 2 weeks. As a freelancer, you can completely restructure the way you live. If you have ever wanted to travel, spend more time with your kids or you are simply more productive in the evenings, freelance will help you organize your life in the way that is most convenient for you. Subsequently, you’ll maintain the desired work-life balance, which you’ll enjoy especially if you were forced to work extra hours in the office.

Cons

You take full responsibility of your career
The great thing about freelancing that there won’t be an annoying boss behind your boss. On the contrary, you’ll have to become your own boss. You’ll have to set goals, plan your career, find the ways to promote your services, and many other things. If you lack organizational skills, you might find the above things especially challenging. You’ll need to take care of the financial matters as well, including keeping track of your invoices and completing tax returns. Are you ready for it?

You will feel isolated
When working in the office, you are surrounded by colleagues with whom you can discuss working issues or have a small talk about anything. However, as a freelancer, you’ll probably work from home. At first you might find it inspiring that you don’t need to head to the office every morning, but then you’ll feel lonely and isolated. So, think in advance how you’re going to handle it: going to a co-working, collaborating with other freelancers or meeting with old friends more often can improve the situation.

Lack of money at the early stage
The classic employment guarantees you a regular paycheck. Freelancing implies that you manage your workload – and the amount of money you eventually earn.
When you start freelancing, you’ll have to take all available, even low-paying jobs to find more clients and establish your reputation. So, get ready that for the first few months your income will be lower than in the office. And from that point on, you’ll have to discipline yourself if you want to increase the amount of money you earn.

You’ll find it hard to distract from work
Freelancers often have no boundaries between work and time off. When you work for multiple clients, they’ll likely to expect you to be always available. Which means that you can get an important e-mail or phone call late in the evening or early in the morning (especially if you work with overseas clients). It’s likely that one day you’ll find out that your job takes you more than 8 hours a day, as you are permanently hunting for orders, explaining things to clients, or improving the previous project.

Promotions and pay raises are now your responsibility
As you don’t have a supervisor, it will be your responsibility to advance your skills, upgrade your title (if any in your field) and increase your pay rate. You’ll need to evaluate the quality of your job to see the progression and reflect it in your profile. Also, you’ll need to market your skills to get paid more and ensure the advance of your career.

Family might not see freelancing as a ‘proper job’
When you work from home, prepare that some friends or family members won’t take your freelancing seriously. They’ll likely see it as a part time job which can be delayed, so they can distract you or treat you as if you were unemployed. Prepare to be explaining what your job is about and insist on their not bothering you when you are working on an important project.

Your productivity might suffer at times
Working from home can be counter-productive at times. If you are married with kids or have roommates, prepare that people are going to distract you from time to time. If you lack self-organizing skills, you’ll likely get distracted even if you’re alone in the room; let’s say by the TV or phone ringing. The point is, if you can’t manage the distractions, the quality of your work is going to suffer.
The solution? If you don’t live alone, consider working from a library or a co-working. Use some sort of productivity apps to stay focused during the day. Finally, check the productivity tips for writers here: http://resumeperk.com/blog/unexpected-tips-for-busy-writers – they will help you stay productive when working from home and avoid the professional burnout.

The bottom line

Freelancing, just like any other type of job, has its advantages and disadvantages. So, it’s totally up to you to decide whether freelance is a good career choice or not. If you are a self-motivated individual who doesn’t afraid of new challenges and have strong self-promotional skills, you’ll find freelancing especially rewarding.

Freelancers also need a resume to land the new gigs or establish the long-term relationships with the new clients. If your current resume leaves much to be desired, you can start with learning how to free create a resume. If you need an urgent assistance with resume or covering letter, consider hiring our resume writing experts. Our company can prepare your application package at a very affordable charge. Moreover, we know the peculiarities of writing resumes for freelancers, which will help you become the wanted freelancer.

Have you ever worked as a freelancer? Did you benefit from this experience?